Insurance Blog

An op-ed by author Eric Schlosser in Saturday’s New York Times focused on the issue of food-borne illness and called on the U.S. Senate to pass food safety legislation.
Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quoted by Schlosser indicate the scale of the problem:
Every day, about 200,000 Americans are sickened by contaminated food. Every year, about 325,000 are hospitalized by a food-borne illness. And the number who are killed annually by something they ate is roughly the same as the number of Americans who’ve been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.”

Schlosser went on to observe that while the elderly and people with compromised immune systems face an elevated risk from food borne pathogens like listeria, campylobacter and salmonella, by far the most vulnerable group are children under the age of four.
The economic cost of the problem is also huge. A recent study sponsored by Pew Charitable […]

Read the rest of this great post here

In our PowerPoint report on the Deepwater Horizon disaster we note that one of the many likely legal avenues to be pursued in post-spill litigation includes health claims by workers assisting in the cleanup.
Given the sheer scale of the cleanup, the use of chemical dispersants and the numbers of workers involved in the Deepwater Horizon response, the potential for some type of work-related injury or illness claim appears inevitable. At last count, BP said approximately 43,100 personnel were involved in the response effort.
Now the Wall Street Journal law blog reports on a lawsuit filed by a Louisiana fisherman against BP calling for a court-monitored health monitoring program for volunteers and workers who say they have been exposed to the oil, fumes and other chemicals while cleaning up the spill.
According to the WSJ law blog, the fisherman filing suit (who apparently was hospitalized in late May for illnesses caused by the […]

Read the rest of this great post here

Turns out the Fourth of July holiday can be a dangerous one. Before you head out to enjoy the barbecues and fireworks, consider the following.
The Fourth of July is the most dangerous holiday for drivers, according to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The Hartford Courant’s Insurance Capital blog reports that over the past five years an average 6,031 collision claims have been made by State Farm policyholders nationwide on July 4.
By way of comparison, New Year’s Day saw 5,403 collision claims and Memorial Day 5,321 claims over the same five-year period.
Similarly, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that July 4 is one of the days with the highest number of crash fatalities. From 2004 to 2008 there were about 148 crash deaths each July 4, compared with 114 on a typical day.
Check out I.I.I. facts and stats on highway safety for more information.
Have a safe and happy holiday!

Read the rest of this great post here

A government study has found that very little progress has been made on eliminating hospital-acquired infections and the problem needs urgent attention. According to the 2009 National Healthcare Quality Report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, rates of postoperative sepsis and postoperative catheter-associated infections are increasing. The study reported that rates of bloodstream infections increased by 8 percent and urinary tract infections increased by 3.6 percent on the previous year, while rates of selected infections due to medical care increased by 1.6 percent. On a more positive note, there was no change in the number of bloodstream infections associated with central venous catheter placements, and rates of postoperative pneumonia improved by 12 percent. Check out an April 13 New York Times article for more on this. A recent study by Aon found that hospital professional liability claims are on the increase, in part due to claims arising from […]

Read the rest of this great post here

–>

At least 25 miners have been confirmed dead in an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The tragedy is being described as the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades. Check out Ken Ward’s Coal Tattoo blog at the Charleston West Virginia Gazette for the latest on the Massey disaster. Just a week ago Workers Comp Insider blog had a timely post titled Mining safety: not just for China. It was prompted by the tragic story of 153 Chinese mine workers trapped underground in a flooded mine. In the past two days some 115 of the miners trapped for more than a week in the flooded Wangjialing mine in China’s northern Shanxi province miraculously have been pulled out alive. Sadly latest reports suggest rescue workers searching for survivors have also found five dead. Workers Comp Insider notes that while China’s mining […]

Read the rest of this great post here

As President Obama signs landmark healthcare legislation today, a question for us to consider is how the property/casualty insurance sector may be affected by changes in the nation’s healthcare system. Here’s what the bill means for three key areas that have an impact on p/c insurers and that we’ve highlighted in previous posts:

Antitrust exemption: The healthcare legislation does not include a repeal of the industry’s limited exemption from federal antitrust rules that has been in place for 64 years under the McCarran Ferguson Act. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has applauded the decision: “We appreciate that Congress recognized repealing McCarran-Ferguson would not provide any benefits to the consumer or the insurance marketplace.” Check out I.I.I. info on antitrust law and insurance.
Tort reform: Despite President Obama’s earlier pledge to address medical malpractice liability concerns as part of healthcare reform, the bill does not contain any meaningful tort reform. […]

Read the rest of this great post here

Ahead of a bipartisan healthcare summit this Thursday, President Obama today will announce a revised plan for healthcare reform, including a proposal giving the federal government new power to block so-called “excessive” rate increases by health insurance companies. According to Administration officials, the legislation attempts to bridge the differences between the health bills passed by the House and the Senate last year. The focus on expanding federal regulation into the domain of insurance rates comes after health insurer Anthem Blue Cross of California recently announced premium increases of up to 39 percent. Health and human services secretary Kathleen Sebelius last Thursday issued a report sharply critical of the double-digit increases sought by insurers. However, a February 18 New York Times article by Reed Abelson reports that analysts and health economists say the challenging business environment may leave health insurers little choice but to raise prices if they want to protect […]

Read the rest of this great post here

Next week sees the official launch of First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative tackling the problem of childhood obesity. According to reports, the plan will focus on four core areas: increasing the number of healthy schools; increasing physical activity for children; improving access to healthy food options; and empowering consumers to make better eating choices. Politico.com reports on the bipartisan group of Cabinet members and Congressional lawmakers brought together by the first lady at the White House Tuesday to discuss the national campaign. Obesity is a serious health concern for children and adolescents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show that some 33 percent of children aged 6-11 years and 34 percent of those aged 12-19 years are overweight. The prevalence of obesity in children aged 2 to 19 has also increased, according to the CDC, […]

Read the rest of this great post here

It’s been quite a week for politics and it would be remiss of us to end it without addressing the Democratic party’s loss of a Senate seat in the election in Massachusetts and the impact on healthcare reform. A January 21 article in the Wall Street Journal by Janet Adamy and Naftali Bendavid reports that Congressional Democrats are working to scale down their healthcare bill to widen support and are focusing on increased regulation of health insurers. It cites House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying Congress must prevent insurers from denying policies to people with pre-existing health conditions or dropping people’s coverage once they become sick. Pelosi is also calling for a repeal of the industry’s anti-trust exemption and for the imposition of new caps on health insurers that limit their profits. Both these provisions are part of health bills already passed by the House and Senate, according to the WSJ. […]

Read the rest of this great post here

Yesterday’s announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and welfare of the American people has drawn a wide range of responses in the media. In its comments, the EPA also said it found that greenhouse gas emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to that threat. The findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that greenhouse gases fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants. While the findings do not in and of themselves impose any emission reduction requirements, it’s seems likely that the decision may lead to new emissions rules and regulations. The EPA announcement also comes as the UN climate change summit opens in Copenhagen. An item on the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire blog makes the interesting point that of the 380,000 public comments received by the EPA in response to its proposed finding, more than 70 percent […]

Read the rest of this great post here